The Story of Balance of Power - Nobbel87 Lore Collaboration

It's time for our monthly lore collaboration with Nobbel87! In this series, Nobbel will examine the lore behind popular content on Wowhead. Today's video is the Story of Heart of Zin-Azshari, the focus of the lengthy questline Balance of Power. We've all been grinding out the quest series for our shiny new artifact skin, but what exactly is the Heart in the first place?

Hello everyone! The Heart of Zin-Azshari is a questline very similar to old Legendary quests where you go through raids and dungeons to collect some sweet rewards: a new Artifact skin and some delicious Artifact Power. Some of you may have already finished quest this long ago, but I haven’t shown it yet and others might not complete the questline, so this video is for you.

Heroes of the Alliance and the Horde have ventured forth to the Broken Shore and taken up the challenge of fighting back the Burning Legion. After completing their order hall campaign and picking up their mighty artifact, Archmage Kalecgos pays them a visit.

Azsuna

The power within our weapon has grown exponentially as we have fought the Legion, but he cannot help but wonder if there is something more, something hidden away within. Perhaps even a new form entirely! The very thought demands we find out, so the blue dragon invites us over to the Azurewing Repose in Azsuna. During our adventures in Azsuna, we helped Stellagosa and her granddad Senegos, who were dealing with the withered messing with their leylines and magic. Despite his old age, Senegos still has a heart for adventure, and isn’t quite ready to close his eyes, so perhaps he will be able to help us with unlocking this new form for our artifact.

The Naga in the Eye of Azshara summon terrible storms that ravage the coastline of Azsuna – storms far beyond the abilities of even their best sirens. It can only be the Heart of Zin-Azshari that allows them to do this. Before the Sundering, Azshara’s chosen used the Heart to greatly magnify their power – it is said to have been the key in their dominance of the Well of Eternity. If we can journey to their domain and retrieve it, we will put its power to far better use than those foul creatures. The Heart is said to spread Azshara’s grace across her people and force her wrath upon her enemies. Within the Eye of Azshara, we find it and take it away from the Naga, but that’s only the start of our journey.

The Heart will require a great deal of work to properly hone the destructive energies within its depths. It’s attuned to Azshara’s elite through powerful warding spells, spells that would cause our own demise if we tried to tap into its power right now. There may be a way we can bypass the wards since Prince Farondis and his court were once a part of Azshara’s empire and still hold on to keepsakes of their past. Among these, is sure to be a Vainglorious Draught, said to further bind the queen’s followers to her will. We meet up with Vediris Fallon and after gaining their trust, convince him to part with a bottle which we use to disable the magic protecting the Heart.

If you need help starting this questline, check out our Class Hall Campaign Guide. You must have your third artifact relic unlocked before you can start on the questline.

We first encounter Senegos in the " Defending Azurewing Repose" quest series in Azsuna, which culminates in Hunger's End and introduces players to the Withered, notably Runas the Shamed. While questing, you'll acquire the cute battle pet Emmigosa.

This zone also shares a name with the Broken isles outdoor zone Eye of Azshara. Here you will find World Quests with better-than-average rewards and the summoning location of Kosumoth the Hungering.

In completing the questline for Azsuna Matata you will encounter a showdown between Prince Farondis and Queen Azshara. In questing, you'll learn why Azsuna is cursed and how the elves tried to rebel against Azshara.

The Nightmare

Now, we just need to infuse our artifact with a source of power and Senegos directs us to Darkheart Thicket. There lies the ancient Oakheart, once a great and mighty protector of Shaladrassil, which has regrettably fallen to the Nightmare like so many of his kin. As the darkness within him has taken root, an essence of the corruption has manifested. We can draw power this essence, so we put Oakheart to rest and claim his Corrupted Essence.

Kalec does not doubt Senegos’ plan, but he does have some concerns about the Heart's volatility, especially when combined with Nightmare energy. Despite its name, Blood of Sargeras is often used as a tempering agent by master craftsmen and would probably work for our ritual as well. We bring him 30 Blood of Sargeras and with that, we’re ready to infuse our weapon with the power stored within the Nightmare Essence.

One Essence simply won’t do, so once our troops were able to permeate the magic protecting the Emerald Nightmare, Xavius’ sinister realm, we went in to find creatures and monsters that defy all that the Dream and the Green flight stands for. Each of these fiends carry with them Corrupted Essence, as Oakheart did but far more potent. It’s time we tap into the Heart's true potential and gather as much Corrupted Essence as we can to unleash its power.

That is all Senegos can do for us, but there’s still more power to be had so we must look elsewhere. The Moon Guard fought against the Legion during the War of the Ancients, 10,000 years ago. Their intimate knowledge of our enemies would be invaluable to our cause.

The Nightfallen

We saved the Moonguard from the Nightborne’s assault, as their former friends and allies turned against them. The Legion has a way of corrupting even the strongest alliances and the remaining Moonguard have been hanging out with us in Shal’Aran.

We ask them if they can help us out with our quest and Thalrenus Rivertree is familiar with the Nightborne’s magic, but they were never allowed access to the Heart. That was a right reserved only for the Queen’s favored. However, the knowledge on how to properly tap its magic is still available. Thousands of years ago, a Nightborne scholar studied the Heart and documented his findings in great detail. He was discovered and executed and while the scrolls of his writing were banned, the Nightfallen were able to hide it during their escape. Considering all the things we’ve done for the Nightfallen, like growing them a happy little mana tree, I’m sure that Thalyssra will have no problem with selling us the scroll.

They have the knowledge for the ritual, now it’s time to prepare. We need to safely contain the Heart’s power and the Wardens used powerful containment crystals to encase each prisoner in their cell. If any of them still remain intact, we could use one to safely contain the Heart’s Power. So our adventure takes us into the immense secret prison facility, deep underneath the mountains of Azsuna, and into the Vault of the Wardens so we recover a Containment Crystal.

An incantation required for Lothrius’ part in the ritual is written down in his first edition copy of Wards, Sigils, and the Nightborne Way. He was a trusting fool since he lent it to a dear friend – well, former friend – just before the betrayal, so we need to find his missing book in the Court of Stars.

Now, not everyone can just receive the power of their order and saving their very lives was apparently not enough to prove ourselves. Only a Captain of the Guard may be granted this power and we must complete the rite of the Captain. Traditionally, this would involve patrolling the Arcway for three weeks without rest and putting our skills as a Guard to the test. Their laws must still be honored but patrolling the Arcway is not really an option right now, so instead our challenge will be to take out Elisande’s advisor, Vandros, who has recently descended into the Arcway’s depths. We take him out and pick up the Eon Winder from his body, used by the Nightborne arcanists to slow the passage of time in their minds, allowing them to manipulate the finest details of their magic. This will help them control the delicate magics at play within the Heart.

It’s time we put our work to the test by infusing the most potent source of power that we know, Fel magic. At times, the Legion’s minions will carry fragments of the greater portal stones used to usher in their Eredar masters. If we gather enough to form a complete stone, we should be able to use it in Faronaar to call for the Eredar Lord, Vizuul the Twisted, at the Altar of End Times. The bindings Vizuul wears to augment his power should push the Heart to its very limit.

Court of Stars: Literary Perfection requires completion of Mythic Court of Stars, check out our strategy guide for boss tips and attunement info. Court of Stars is the location of a Nightborne party that the Grand Magistrix may even be attending. This dungeon is unique since there are a number of buff items for specific classes, races, and professions.

Odyn's Feast

Vizuul’s runebindings are a bit more potent than they had anticipated and we simply cannot risk another catastrophe like that. We’ll have to protect the Heart against Fel energy before we continue our work. Ashildir in Stormheim has proven willing to aid to those who she deems worthy, and her master just may be able to help us protect the Heart. That means our quest takes us out of Shal’Aran and into Stormheim and to the Vault of Eyir. Hopefully Ashildir will remember our heroic deeds as we took on the corrupted Mystics of Haustvald, escaped from Helheim itself and saved Eyir from Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner.

Ashildir recognizes that our blade is powerful, but it has not yet met its full potential. The all-powerful Odyn in the Halls of Valor can bestow his strength upon us, but we wouldn’t be dealing with Odyn if there weren’t some trials ahead of us. First order of business is to bring him a worthy tribute, but in order to retrieve it we must first receive the Mark of the Valkyra.

We are ready for the next step. The Svalnguard was once Odyn’s shield; it is said that it hid the Halls of Valor from the endless darkness below his realm. Helya, who was cast from the shining halls long ago, stole the Svalnguard and keeps it on her accursed ship, the Naglfar. We must board the Naglfar to defeat Helya, and retrieve the Svalnguard, and it will make a worthy tribute for Odyn.

There's one last task before we journey to the Halls of Valor and that is presenting a truly glorious feast to Odyn from beasts worthy of his throne. It is customary in the Halls of Valor to feast after battle and this will show him our determination to earn his blessing. This feast cannot come from ordinary beasts, so we go out to hunt 3 specific targets: Thunderhorn in Stormheim whose flank offers enough meat for the bellies of a thousand warriors, Spinesever in Highmountain whose spine can be used to make broth for vast quantities of stew and Leytusk in Azsuna whose Ley-Infused boar meat is said to grow one-hundred fold in size when cooked.

A feast like this is a good start, but a feast’s merit begins not at the great beasts piled upon it, but at the dish used to serve it. Deep beneath Highmountain lies the former lair of Neltharion, otherwise known as Deathwing. There we find remnants of adamantium plating used to hold his molten skin together. Yes, we use the plates worn by Deathwing not to craft a mighty artifact, but to present our food to Odyn, which will be prepared by Ashildir’s guards. We are now ready to venture into Odyn’s shining halls and offer the feast. His mighty gaze will set upon us and we must pass the ancient trials of the Valarjar under his watch.

I'm guessing this trial used to be a speedrun since Odyn mentions how quick we were, but I didn’t notice any timer counting down. Either way, we’ve completed the Keeper's trials once again and he has blessed us.

The Nighthold

Thanks to our tireless efforts, the Heart of Zin-Azshari is ready to withstand the full power of the Legion. The final destination in our journey has stood defiantly in front of us from the moment we began – the Nighthold and now home to none other than Gul’dan himself. Before we make our move on the hold, we should first reunite with the Moon Guard in Shal’Aran since we still have need of their skills and Kalec wagers that they have unfinished business with their former brothers and sisters.

Our work is very nearly complete. Now that the Heart can safely absorb power from Fel magic, we need the strongest source of it that we can get our hands on. Gul’dan has called the Nightborne’s elite back to the Nighthold to aid him. The storm of Fel energy above the palace has seeped into the very fabric of their being, even making its way into the crystallized pieces of the Nightwell that many carry with them. Those shards are exactly what we need and so as we assault the Nighthold, we collect as many of the Nightshards as we can.

The Moonguard believe that Grand Magistrix Elisande and those that follow her have lost their minds. They truly believe that allying themselves with the Legion will end in anything but their own demise! They are too far gone to save, but they still have powerful items that we can use to help us infuse the Heart of Zin-Azshari with their power. We collect a power core from the mad construct, Trilliax where a switch on the side labeled "Personality setting" has completely eroded away, explaining the construct's behavior. From Elisande, we collect the Millenia Tome. This is a spell book with pages that turn by themselves and the words on each page are constantly flickering in and out of existence.

The pile of Nightshards is perfect and now only one more task remains. Face Gul'dan. No more of his lies, his deceits, or his trickery. None of it can save him now. The warlock must be brought down. Once defeated, we take one of his conjured eyes. Using his power for good will be a fitting end.

Let us not waste another moment. At long last, it is time to reap the fruits of our labor. Lothrius tells of a place that is deep in the former Moonguard Stronghold which is used to infuse new Guards with immense power. It will be the perfect place to tap into and augment the power of the Nightshards that we gathered. The artifact’s new form is even more fantastic than Kalec had imagined. We get to take the remains of the Heart as a token of his gratitude for such a marvelous adventure.

Rewards and Concluding Remarks

I honestly very much enjoyed this questline and want to give a big, big thank you to all of those people that helped during the streams with Mythic Dungeons, the raids and all that good stuff. If you haven’t done this questline yet, then I’d recommend it, since it offers a lot of Artifact Power, the skin looks very nice and it’s now much easier to finish the questline. They’ve increased the droprate of the Nightmare Essence which should allow you to finish that part of the questline in about 2 runs and the Nighthold quest also took 2 runs to do so it's definitely worth the time while we wait for the new raid to open up.

And with that we’ve come to the end of the video, so thank you very much for watching everyone! Subscribe if you like my videos, leave a like if you enjoyed this one aaaaand until next time guys....see ya!

Learn more on Wowhead:

The final quest Balance of Power rewards which scales up to 25,604,400 at AK 33.

The main reward for this achievement is a special Artifact Appearance. This is important to collect now, because you may not be eligible to transmog to this appearance if you do the questline after Legion.

Acquiring the Balance of Power artifact tint allows you to also use the tints from Fighting with Style: Valorous, which require killing World Bosses, clearing Mythic 15, and the dungeon meta-achievement.

Comments

Comment by Dialout

Would love to see some throwbacks to major questlines/lore prior to Legion even if they're irrelevant.

Just more to read and watch on lazy days :)

Comment by Soeroah

on 2017-05-08T06:52:35-05:00

The chain certainly is easier to do now - I never thought I'd bother on one character, but with it being easier now and the 100 dungeon skin being nerfed to 30, suddenly the BoP chain counts for almost a third of the dungeons that need to be run for that skin, so it turns out to be worth doing on all my alts.

Only issue is I wish I could have AK50 when doing it because damn, the AP gains...

Other than that, my only problem is the way the last quests are set up so if you hit 30 Nightshards mid-Nighthold you need to either hope your group will let you hearth, turn in and resummon you, or come back and - worst case scenario - be stuck running the whole raid again just for a Gul'dan kill.

Comment by Skullnbonerz

on 2017-05-08T10:03:56-05:00

Got to admire someone who has the fortitude to dedicate their whole life to literally the worst story ever told.

Comment by Magouya

on 2017-05-08T10:26:03-05:00

I love these columns!

Would love to see some throwbacks to major questlines/lore prior to Legion even if they're irrelevant.

Just more to read and watch on lazy days :)

A good idea for new players !

Comment by fredtheshred

on 2017-05-08T11:14:04-05:00

The subtitles. My God, the subtitles! Hahahahahaha!

Comment by perculia

on 2017-05-08T12:54:41-05:00

I love these columns!

Would love to see some throwbacks to major questlines/lore prior to Legion even if they're irrelevant.

Just more to read and watch on lazy days :)

Let us know which you'd like to see and we'll try to include them in the future.

Comment by warsn

on 2017-05-08T19:44:53-05:00

I love this type of content! Thank you so much from a fellow lore-nerd!

Comment by JuliaHB

on 2017-05-09T10:09:53-05:00

What I need to know is whether some of these dungeons/raids NEED to be run on Mythic... because if so, I will never get that quest completed and the weapon skins to go with it. If they can all be run on Normal, I might have a chance (mainly it is due to a very old system that can't handle all of the fog and spell effects... even with them all turned off or down, I laaaaag. Foggy areas in the game are especially bad for me). Please if someone can clarify... that'd be appreciated.

Comment by Rogvar

on 2017-05-09T10:54:48-05:00

What I need to know is whether some of these dungeons/raids NEED to be run on Mythic...

All RAIDS for this quest are NORMAL or higher (LFR does not work though, for all other legion quest chains LFR works, but not for this chain), all DUNGEONS are MYTHIC. But do not be afraid of it, "mythic" is very different for dungeons and raids. While mythic raiding is very tight balanced to provide worthy challenge for best players, mythic dungeons are quite trivial content, actually easier than normal raids.

Also, in 5 men your PC should lag way less, and there are way fewer things that you should watch for and immediately move than in raids.

Comment by Cyberium

on 2017-05-10T16:29:05-05:00

I wish Corrupted Essence can at least drop alongside your loot of the week, instead of randomly, wouldn't be so rough if the latter parts oft he quest chain can be done alongside it.

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